Are Cold Walls to Blame for My Damp Problem?

Bills. They continue to add up, year after year, whether it’s necessary heating, electricity and food bills or your entertainment costs for TV, internet and mobile phones. No matter what happens, you can always trust in the fact that your bills will increase.

This is one of the reasons why a lot of families are still reluctant to put their heating on as we move into the colder quarter of the year. Instead, many people prefer to wrap up warm in dressing gowns and slippers or throw on an extra jumper (or two!) rather than reach for the thermostat.

Cold Walls

Could cold walls be the source of a property’s damp problems? As damp specialists in London, we’ve seen many cases of penetrating damp, timber decay and rising damp and while we can say that cold walls aren’t the source of your damp problem, they are a good indication that there may be a damp problem in your home.

Interior walls should be warm and dry to the touch, whereas your exterior walls should be cold to the touch (dryness will depend on the weather). Warm and dry interior walls mean that you have no moisture trapped in your walls and a cold exterior wall indicates that your insulation is working efficiently to keep the warmth trapped in your property.

What Do I Do if My Walls are Cold?

If you’ve noticed that your walls are cold to the touch, check over the whole wall for damp patches or structural defects like holes and cracks. If you notice damaged wallpaper, paint or plasterwork on the walls but no actual damp patches, you might be experiencing a penetrating damp problem that has temporarily dried on a warm day outside. Check over your exterior gutters to ensure that they are clear and fixed correctly and check your exterior facias for damage or missing brickwork, where moisture can ingress.

Where damp patches are present, it’s safe to confirm that there is a damp problem in your property. If you are on the ground floor, check where the damp patches occur. Low to the ground with crumbling skirting boards could indicate a rising damp problem, whereas higher up, disconnected damp patches with damaged wall decorations are likely to be the result of penetrating damp.

While saving money on your energy bills is important, there are better ways to do it than just simply keeping your family and home in the cold this winter - even turning your thermostat down slightly can offer big savings. Consider some energy saving methods rather than keeping your property cold as it will only cause your heating system to work harder when you do come to use it, dramatically shortening the life of your boiler and leading to further issues such as trapped air in your radiators.

If you aren’t sure what type of damp is affecting your property, please don't hesitate to get in contact with our expert team on 0208 535 7536 and book a survey. As experienced damp specialists in London, we can correctly identify, treat and repair areas affected by different types of damp and will work with you to prevent future damp problems in your home.